Golf swings for success

October 3, 2013

GABE HIGGINS
Staff Writer

The Virginia Wesleyan Golf Team has high expectations for the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) tournament this season. The players and coaching staff are hoping that the championship trophy will be making its way back to Virginia Beach this spring.
The team’s lofty goals are due to the recent successes in tournaments this fall. They recently traveled to Harrisonburg, Virginia to compete in the Tom Kinder invitational on the Lakeview golf course. There were 18 teams at the competition, and the Men’s Golf Team placed 9th.
“We have had two tournaments so far. The last tournament, we placed the highest this school has placed in five years and we still did not play well, but we see that as a good sign. We have a lot more potential,” said freshman Ian Chamberlain.
The team is not content with its performance in the past two tournaments. Although they broke recent school records, the team thinks it can still do better.
They placed ninth in an 18 team field and their goal is to produce higher standings in any future tournaments they attend.
“This season has been a C+ so far. We could be doing a lot better. We have a lot of good players, but not everyone is playing up to their potential,” said Chamberlain.
This golf team is ready to put Virginia Wesleyan back on the map. In the past six years, the Men’s Golf Team has not placed in the top tier of the ODAC tournament. Last year, the men finished ninth in a field of 10 teams at the ODAC championship tournament.
However, the team has great confidence about where they are going to finish this year. “We are definitely going to win ODACs this year,” said Jordan McDavid.
“We can beat everyone in the conference, even nationally ranked Guilford,” said McDavid.
Guilford has won the conference championship the past three years and is not showing any signs of slowing down. Guilford’s Quakers placed second at their most recent tournament and they are currently ranked 13th in the nation, according to the Golf World/Nike Division III Coaches’ Poll.
Although Guilford is a powerhouse team, the Marlins consider them beatable, and hope to diminish the Quaker’s chances of finishing at the top of the conference.
The Virginia Wesleyan’s Men’s Golf Team wants to be respected not only by the college, ot the ODAC conference, but also by teams throughout the country.